Saturday, August 29, 2009

Generation Dead by Daniel Waters

Phoebe Kendall is just your typical Goth girl with a crush. He's strong and silent...and dead.

All over the country, a strange phenomenon is occurring. Some teenagers who die aren't staying dead. But when they come back to life, they are no longer the same. Feared and misunderstood, they are doing their best to blend into a society that doesn't want them.

The administration at Oakvale High attempts to be more welcoming of the "differently biotic." But the students don't want to take classes or eat in the cafeteria next to someone who isn't breathing. And there are no laws that exist to protect the "living impaired" from the people who want them to disappear--for good.

When Phoebe falls for Tommy Williams, the leader of the dead kids, no one can believe it; not her best friend, Margi, and especially not her neighbor, Adam, the star of the football team. Adam has feelings for Phoebe that run much deeper than just friendship; he would do anything for her. But what if protecting Tommy is the one thing that would make her happy?

I’m not a huge fan of zombies, anybody who knows me knows that I’m ridiculously terrified of just the idea of them. So when I opened this as a gift previously, I was a little iffy. However, as I began reading, the entire concept just drew me in.

The plot kind of reminds me somewhat of True Blood, where zombies are like vampires and are mostly frowned upon by society. Of course, I’m not relating the two of them past that, because they are radically different. (And I wouldn’t suggest True Blood to anybody under 18, just a friendly hint) Moving on, I found a new adoration for zombies during this. Daniel Waters introduced a very clever way of portraying them in a positive light, which I’ve never seen before.

I was a bit hot and cold with the characters, but towards the end, everything fortunately cleared. They’re your run of the mill, teenage cliché group of students, but with the zombies (which is an insult to them!) mixed, it works.

This book was a lot more than just “forbidden” romance. Phoebe and friends are dealing with the pressures of being ridiculed for their choices of interacting with the dead. The “differently biotic” are dealing with the struggles of trying to find their place in a world that wants them gone. I found the main topic of the book being racism, and Daniel Waters approached it very wonderfully.

I haven’t had the pleasure of reading Kiss Of Life, the sequel, yet. I hope Tommy redeems himself, and I hope Dan turns the angst level up a whole lot more. It’s not my favorite book in the world, but it’s a great read, and I definitely recommend it to any YA reader!